Andrew Jackson Hamilton | |
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11th Governor of Texas | |
In office June 17, 1865 – August 9, 1866 |
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Appointed by | Andrew Johnson |
Lieutenant | Vacant |
Preceded by | Pendleton Murrah |
Succeeded by | James W. Throckmorton |
Member of the Texas House of Representatives | |
In office 1850–1853 |
|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 2nd district |
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In office March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861 |
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Preceded by | Guy M. Bryan |
Succeeded by | John C. Conner |
Attorney General of Texas | |
In office January 15, 1850 – August 5, 1850 |
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Preceded by | Henry Percy Brewster |
Succeeded by | Ebenezer Allen |
Personal details | |
Born |
Huntsville, Alabama |
January 28, 1815
Died | April 11, 1875 Austin, Texas |
(aged 60)
Political party |
Democrat (until 1858) Independent Democrat (1858 - 1860) Unionist Party (1860 - 1866) Republican (1866 - 1869) |
Spouse(s) | Mary Bowen |
Profession | Law |
Andrew Jackson Hamilton (January 28, 1815 – April 11, 1875) was a United States politician during the third quarter of the 19th century. He was a lawyer, state representative, military governor of Texas, as well as the 11th Governor of Texas during Reconstruction.
Hamilton was born in Huntsville, Alabama on January 28, 1815. His education began in Alabama where he went to law school and was eventually admitted to the bar in Talladega, Alabama. In order to join his older brother Morgan, Hamilton moved to Texas late in 1846 and opened his own law practice in La Grange, Texas. Three years later he left the city, moving to Austin, Texas to begin his political career.
In 1849 Hamilton was appointed as the acting state attorney general by Texas Governor Peter H. Bell.
In 1850 he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives representing Travis County as a Democrat. He would only serve one term, leaving office in 1853. During this time he joined the "Opposition Clique", a faction of southern politicians in the Democratic Party who opposed secession and the reopening of the slave trade.
In 1858, Hamilton was elected to the United States House of Representatives as an Independent Democrat representing the western district of Texas. During this time he served on a House committee formed late in 1860 to solve the growing sectional feud between the North and South. He chose not to run for re-election in 1860, but, on his return to Texas in 1861, won a special election to the State Senate. Hamilton was later forced to resign this post after threats to his life for his pro-Union statements. He fled to Mexico in July 1862.